


bath thoughts

by mudfire



Category: DARLING In The FRANXX (Anime)
Genre: F/F, Yuri, mentions of squad 13
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2018-08-14
Packaged: 2019-06-27 09:16:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15682458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mudfire/pseuds/mudfire
Summary: it's another long day for our lesbian FranXX girl. what's better to do than wash yourself off of boys and think for a little bit? when your crush walks in on your thinking time.





	bath thoughts

**Author's Note:**

> f-first post... go easy on me
> 
> edited a bit!

Ikuno sighed as she set down her spare set of clothes down in the cubby, closing her eyes for a quick second. With the war between the boys and girls, the pistils had to find stored food that wasn’t within the mess hall. That meant eating canned food, and it was taking a toll on the usually pampered girls; they were used to freshly prepared food that the boys now chowed on every night. Ikuno didn’t mind, but the glasses girl didn’t know how long she could stand Miku’s whining.

It was definitely dumb of them to not tape the last feet leading to the door. Even when they ran out of tape.

Returning to undress herself, Ikuno’s thoughts turned to the pros of their situation. She enjoyed the reprise from the stamens; they were often rambunctious, always playing ball or constantly arguing. 

Spending less time with Mitsuru was always welcomed; she simply thought of him as putting up an act, and he needed to let go of certain things. Through their connection, it could be said that partners always understood each other best, so Ikuno could see why they were paired; he had some kind of unresolved history with Hiro from the Garden, just as Ikuno did with Ichigo. Though he could stand to be taken down a few notches.

Futoshi and Zorome, to her, were two of the same: both annoying and lucky in their positions as stamens. Futoshi could gush about his puppy love freely, and Zorome was too immature to even recognize such feelings.

Hiro, she had no immediate thoughts for, besides her wondering if the dark-haired stamen would treat Zero Two like he did with his previous partner, Naomi; a sort of carelessness. Was he only using Zero Two as his ticket out of being send away?

Goro… she both respected and envied him the most.

Holding a towel high against her chest, Ikuno was glad for the second pro of their room splitting: the baths. She didn’t know what she would do without a bath after a sortie. To clean her body after riding… it always gave the her a sense of relief afterwards.

After showering and rinsing her body clean, Ikuno entered the bath, first placing in her toes to test the temperature before stepping in more readily. She chose a spot in the far corner, where the door was in full view for looking out against any peepers, yet also out of the way of immediate glancing. Especially after the bath incident, Ikuno was wary of the boys and despised them for stepping in their personal time. After seeing their perverted gazes just freely roam their bodies-- Kokoro was still rinsing herself outside the bath-- Ikuno had to go all-out power mode and destroy them by throwing the bath bowls that floated in the water. 

She sighed, running a hand through her dark hair. Pushing back a sidelock, Ikuno dispelled any more unpleasant memories so she could enjoy her soak.

As the purple-haired pistil stared listlessly across the bathing room, her thoughts settled on Ichigo, as they usually did. With the children’s war, the girls often gathered in Miku and Kokoro’s room to plan how to go about the next day. With three beds to each room, Miku and Kokoro sat in their respective beds as they discussed, which left the third bed to be occupied by both Ichigo and Ikuno. Though they used pillows to prop themselves up, she couldn’t help but long that their squad leader was leaning on her instead. Ikuno usually carried a book with her in case Miku started rambling, to appear absent and cool, but all she wanted was for their meeting to finish, to retire to her own room and enjoy the last of the night with her roommate Ichigo. Ikuno loved that time best, where sometimes Ichigo would come over to her bed and just talk besides her; Ikuno would even put aside whatever she was reading to give the squad leader her full attention.

In the morning, when Ikuno woke up earlier than her, she got out of bed to watch Ichigo breathe in sleep before waking up her roommate. Sometimes, Ichigo would even offer to tie up Ikuno’s hair when she wasn’t too tired.

Sinking a bit deeper into the water, Ikuno closed her eyes once again, concentrating on her body. She felt the water slip up over her lips, and blew soft bubbles, hearing them pop in her blindness. Ikuno was sliding deeper into her consciousness, just feeling the warm water wrap around her body, before she heard the sliding door rattle open, startling her awake.

“Ikuno?” The freckled girl felt relieved to see it only Ichigo, and any previous thoughts were quickly brushed from her mind. “Is it only you here?”

She sat up, resting her back against the rim of the tub. “Yes, it’s only me. Are Miku and Kokoro coming?”

“No, later on. They’re doing something in their room together; hair, I think?” The razor-haired pistil said nonchalantly before proceeding to the showerheads.

Ikuno longed for one of her numerous books to distract her right now; with Ichigo’s back toward her, she couldn’t help but stare. The short-haired girl’s body was petite, being the smallest of the pistils and so the smallest of the squad. Ikuno had felt her shoulders and small frame a few times before; just random, small occasions, like hugs or encouragement, and from the privilege of being Ichigo’s roommate. In this aspect, Ikuno felt that it was worth being a girl.

They also had the same eye color. Ikuno knew that was nothing to think about; it was only coincidence that they both had green eyes. And similarly-shaded hair.

Ikuno wretched herself out of her thoughts with a hard blink, not realizing she had sunk deeper into the bath water. The purple-haired girl sat up quickly as she realized Ichigo had stood up, finished. Her initial reaction was to glance away, seeing that Ichigo wasn’t facing away anymore, nor did she carried a towel to cover her thin body with.

Like Ikuno, the blue-haired pistil gingerly tested out the water temperature before stepping in, coming over to Ikuno’s side. It was expected of her, since whenever the parasites were relaxing Ichigo opted to be by her roommate’s side.

Ikuno had chosen to lean her head against the tub side, facing up and looking as if she was enjoying herself. She was used to averting her gaze with expert reason, since she was with Ichigo almost every hour of the day.

But Ikuno did not expect the squad leader to sit right next to her, close enough that their shoulders pressed together and their bare hips brushed underneath the water surface. The freckled pistil lifted her head back to give Ichigo a questioning glance, knowing full well Ichigo had something on her mind. Her unasked question went unanswered, as Ikuno felt the squad leader’s head rest softly upon her shoulder, and internally sighing, Ikuno braced herself.

“Is there something wrong?” She knew her question wasn’t anything out of the ordinary; after Ikuno’s numerous readings the literate parasite was able talk her way around her crush without embarrassment or difficulty.

“No, I’m just tired,” Ichigo replied. The smaller girl lifted her head up again, eyes wide. “I’m sorry, did you not like that?” Her hands rose to gesture, but Ikuno quickly shook her head.

“No, I don’t mind.” She gave what she hoped was a small smile with tired, closed eyes; the green-eyed girl was against staring at the other girls’ bodies with lecherous eyes, from both stamen and herself.

Ichigo turned away at her confirmation, leaning back on Ikuno. “As your squad leader, I’ll be depending on you then.” This time, it wasn’t just her head on Ikuno’s shoulder: the short-haired girl was leaning her back directly against Ikuno’s side, fully relaxing using her teammate’s body.

They sat in contented silence for a while, with Ikuno always hoping moments like these would never end. She drew up her knees, moving carefully so as not to disturb Ichigo, and concentrated on the moment, as if to fixate this time permanently in her mind.

She was slightly startled when Ichigo broke the silence. “Ikuno?” The purple-haired pistil made a soft noise in response. “What do you think about the boys, especially now, with this fight going on?”

Ikuno answered immediately. “They’re perverts. First not telling us what happened in the FranXX, then accidentally walking in on us bathing. That’s too much.” She lifted her nose up just at the mention of the incidents again, feeling a deep-rooted disgust for the stamen of their squad.

“Ugh, I totally agree! Especially with Futoshi saying that about Kokoro! At least Hiro had the guts to speak up.”

“Hiro, huh…” Ikuno let slip, gaze glancing away in thought of the stamen. It was only with Ichigo that she let her thoughts slip out just a bit.

She felt Ichigo stretch against her, pushing her hands down into the water as her shoulders rose. Ikuno relished the smooth contact of her skin on hers, but closed her eyes in concentration, not letting the feeling distract her.

“Yea. I’m glad he got to stay with our squad. I hope he and Zero Two…” The small girl trailed off, and Ikuno was about to prompt her with words before she tried a different tactic.

Tapping her elbow lightly against Ichigo’s back to encourage her on, Ikuno thought that contact wasn’t overstepping boundaries.

But once again, she didn’t factor in how much Ichigo would respond, until the blue-haired girl turned around. They were once again facing the same direction, and Ikuno wasn’t sure if this position was better or worse. Ichigo’s hand found hers underwater as she shifted, grabbing and lifting it above water. Ikuno watched with deadpan eyes, unable to muster her usual kind expression as she struggled to understand what Ichigo was doing.

The squad leader only gazed at their joined hands, intertwining their fingers and counting their knuckles with her other hand. She was quiet and said nothing, though she didn’t look disturbed; more like serenity as she played with their interlocked hands. Ikuno at first let the her go about her things, interested at what caused this action and wondering if there was any deep meaning. She wasn’t sure, though, and leaned back against the tub wall, staring up at the ceiling again as she felt Ichigo’s small fingers trace her hand.

Her touch first sent shivers against Ikuno’s spine, but the purple-haired parasite eventually grew used to the squad leader’s soft, tracing touch; up and over her knuckles, down the length of her fingers and pressing on her nails, switching back over to her own hand before settling on Ikuno’s again. She wanted to question Ichigo what her intentions were, but wanted even more to savor this moment for as long as she could.

It ended after an agonizingly long time, until Ikuno couldn’t even feel difference between her back against the tub; but she still longed for the intimate moment to linger.

“Oh, Ikuno!” Her low voice summoned Ikuno from her private thoughts, causing the purple-haired pistil to lift her head and turn her attention to the squad leader.

“What is it now?” Ikuno’s voice had a teasing but soft-hearted air to it. She loved to poke fun at the blue-haired girl while still retaining a respectful distance; looking at Ichigo from afar was fair enough.

Ichigo stood suddenly, and Ikuno’s eyes instantly went out of focus. With her free hand she pushed the bridge of her nose, forgetting she wasn’t wearing her glasses. “Your hands are all pruned! How long were you in here before me?”

“You don’t have to act so surprised.” The freckled girl stood, evening out their connected hands. “We’ve stayed in here long enough anyways, let’s get out.” Ikuno started out of the bath first, loosening their grip but pulling the squad leader forward.

Ichigo gave their hands a squeeze at Ikuno’s loosened grip, and Ikuno, a sudden hopeful spark in her chest, glanced back at the other girl’s face. Of course, Ichigo didn’t give her the exact desired look; she looked happy, childishly happy.

Not the same look Ikuno would give her squad leader behind her back.

“What are you looking so happy for? Come on, don’t let tell me the heat got to your head.” Ikuno turned to face forward again, not before Ichigo gave their linked hands a final tug. Drawing her attention back, the glasses-wearing girl turned to face Ichigo again, a heaving sigh evident on her lips before she saw Ichigo’s next expression.

The blush, Ikuno knew, was only because of the steaming bathwater; but she could dream. “Thanks for always listening to me, Ikuno.”

Ikuno faced forward again, stepping out of the bath. “Of course.”

_ You didn’t actually tell me anything, though. _

“Now let me dry your hair since I made you stay in the bath for too long!”

“Aha, you don’t need to do that. Maybe I should do it for you since your hair is shorter?”

“No, let me make it up to you. As your squad leader!”

_ Boys would never see this side of girls. But sometimes, I do wish I was a boy instead. _

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> set sometime during the course of episode 8, during the girls vs boys fiasco
> 
> starting off with a more thoughty fic bc I wanted to get into her shoes better
> 
> first post! comments/criticizes are highly prized...
> 
> also this was first made before naomi x ikuno happened so forgive me


End file.
